Philippines and Muslim rebel group sign peace deal
Source: AP-EXCITE
By OLIVER TEVES
MANILA, Philippines (AP) - The Philippine government signed a peace accord with the country's largest Muslim rebel group on Thursday, the culmination of years of negotiations and a significant political achievement for President Benigno Aquino III.
The deal grants largely Muslim areas of the southern Mindanao region greater political autonomy in exchange for an end to armed rebellion. But it will not stop all violence in a part of the country long plagued by lawlessness, poverty and Islamist insurgency. Implementing the ambitious accord also will be challenging.
Aquino and leaders of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front witnessed the signing of the agreement in the presidential palace in Manila. Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak, whose country brokered the peace talks, attended the ceremony.
"In signing this agreement, the two sides have looked not to the problems of the past, but to the promise of the future," Najib said. "After so many years of conflict, and so many lives lost, it is a momentous act of courage."
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In this handout photo released by the Malacanang Photo Bureau, President Benigno S. Aquino III, third from right, Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) Chairman, Al Haj Murad Ebrahim, third from left, Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak, center, and Secretary Teresita Quintos-Deles, Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process, second from right, applaud as they witness the exchange of the signed Comprehensive Agreement on the Bangsamoro (CAB) by MILF chief negotiator Mohagher Iqbal, fourth from left, and Miriam Coronel Ferrer, fourth from right, of the Philippine government in a ceremony at the Malacanang Presidential Palace in Manila, Philippines on Thursday March 27, 2014. The Philippine government signed a peace accord with the country's largest Muslim rebel group on Thursday, the culmination of years of negotiations and a significant political achievement for President Aquino.(AP Photo/Malacanang Photo Bureau, Ryan Lim)
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